Drought hampers U.S. corn exports

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

The drought in various sections of the nation's mid-section the past two years has hurt U.S. corn yields and hindered exports, according the U.S. Department of Agriculture and industry officials. The Agriculture Department reported this month that corn production was down a quarter last year from 2012 and stocks are down a third, which is putting pressure on prices for meat, milk and other items produced with corn feed, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch . The U.S. is losing market share because producers such as Brazil and Argentina have had strong crops and lower prices, experts say. The spread between South American and U.S. corn prices is beginning to narrow as growing world demand exacerbat...